It has been several years since we last came into contact. Now that I’m 27, I have grown into a more mature man.

Every now and then I reminisce the times we’ve spent together and I regret not having taken a photograph with her, much to her dismay. Back then, I would scold her for taking secret pictures of me; I hated photography but it was her passion. In the present, I have nothing against picture taking – I’ve gotten used to it due to work purposes. A shake of the hand with someone important in the business field, a smile in the camera, and click.

I met her back when we attended the same university. As cliché as it sounds, I was the school’s heartthrob along with my best pal –whom I still have contact with up until today– Yoo Youngjae. It was my second year when we accidently bumped into each other, our textbooks sliding across the floor whilst we land on our . I remember running late to meet Youngjae that day and yelled at the person who delayed my time. “I’m sorry, don’t sue me!” I recall her bowing ninety-degrees. If I thought her gestures were cute now, I completely went ballistic back then.

I didn’t have much patience back then, picking my books up and scurrying off to where I was supposed to be at that moment. I remember yelling at her, “Watch where you’re going, ,” as my supposedly last words before I darted off. I was late by a few minutes earning a scold from Youngjae. “You’re late. I hate people who are late. And you’re late, best friend.” That moment was not very pleasant or me – he bankrupt me completely. I paid for his lunch, I paid for his dinner, I paid for his bus fare home, and I paid for the gift he was planning to present to his girlfriend with – it was quite expensive considering my budget was limited.

I think it was fate – the incident in broad daylight and the rest of the coincidental meetings here and there. On the same day that I was running late to meet Youngjae at our universities' nearby café, I bumped into that girl for the second time. She walked through the door – the bell chimed – with a few of her friends. She captured my full attention with her glistening wavy long hair under the sunlight. Her perfectly straight and white teeth blew me away when she smiled, along with her beautiful laughter. Each delicate footstep she took, my jaw drooped lower; it was only then did I notice my eyes couldn’t leave her sight. Instantly, I walked over to the table her friends and her occupied, and with much courage I asked her for her name and number. I was shocked with her sudden outburst, “YOU! You’re that guy I bumped into! The one who called me a !” and I immediately regret my previous actions.

From there, we had a love-hate relationship. Starting off as each other’s nemesis we slowly became acquaintances and then friends. Once our friendship was stable after a year, I daringly asked her to be my girlfriend on her birthday – I just knew she was the one for me. She was perfect in my eyes, whatever she does, she does it with respect, knowledge, strength and she does everything with an optimistic viewpoint. She rarely complained about her part-time job as a waitress at a nearby restaurant, with all those whiny and inconsiderate customers. She had high tolerance and patience, something I didn’t have. She was clumsy and cute, cheerful and positive. She made me happy.

That was when I was 23 and she was 22.